It is known that doctors and other personnel involved in the health field should, and frequently are required, to wear lead aprons in order to protect themselves against stray radiation which is unavoidably emitted from apparatus, even when well screened. The patient who is only briefly exposed to radiation is not damaged thereby; doctors and other personnel involved in treatment and diagnosis are, however, subjected to stray radiation during the entire working time which, integrated over a long period of time, is dangerous to health. At least a portion of the stray radiation is due to the presence of the body of the patient itself within the beam of radiation so that, even if the radiation apparatus is completely shielded and screened, the doctor or other treating personnel is still exposed to stray remaining radiation. To protect themselves against stray radiation, it is customary that doctors and other personnel using radiation apparatus wear lead aprons. Such lead aprons are heavy and, if worn during an entire working day, may lead to back pain and vertebral damage. The average weight of lead aprons is between about 3 to 6 kilograms. One can readily see that wearing such a lead apron, which depends in front and in the back of the body in the form of a poncho, for a full working day is tiresome, inconvenient, and may itself lead to physical impairment.